


1.09: Winter Showcase

by JustLikeTheSong



Series: NYC Spin-Off 'Verse [11]
Category: Glee
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Friendship, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-21
Updated: 2013-01-21
Packaged: 2017-11-26 09:32:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/649144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustLikeTheSong/pseuds/JustLikeTheSong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(1) Blaine and Rachel are honored with invitations to perform at NYADA's Winter Showcase, and Blaine makes a new friend.</p><p>(2) The events of the night have Kurt and Santana ready to draw blood.</p><p>(3) Rachel deals with the fallout of the events of the Winter Showcase</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Stars Are Brightly Shining

As his first semester at NYADA neared completion, Blaine was feeling pretty good.  Sure, Cassandra July was still a terror, but at least he had already performed for his final evaluation in her class.  And sure, his other professors seemed to be gleefully plotting his demise with final assignments and ominous-sounding exams and evaluations in his other classes, but he was feeling pretty confident.  There were only two days of classes left, and a week and a half of exams, and then he would be free for the Christmas holiday.

[Rachel](http://cbskyxy2.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/409glee_ep409-sc18_026.jpg?w=600&h=337&crop=1) seemed in similar good spirits as they stretched before their morning dance class on the last Thursday of the semester.  [Blaine](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcrtq51Wci1r4o05zo2_400.gif) wondered if her nonchalant mood stemmed from actual confidence regarding her classes, especially considering she had yet to do her final evaluation in their dance class, or if the cause was her rekindled romance with Brody.  The two had been inseparable for the past two weeks, ever since Brody attended their Orphan’s Thanksgiving.

Rachel chattered away happily, soon answering Blaine’s unspoken question:  “…and Brody and I were planning on staying in the city for the holiday,” she said airily, “so my dads will have to come here, but there’s a Christmas cruise I want to take them on.  And besides, I just think going back to Lima is a bad idea at this point; it feels like I’m moving backwards when I’m there…”

Blaine nodded absently at her words.  He thought her break-up with Finn was affecting her more than she realized, and he wasn’t sure jumping into a new relationship was the best idea, but Kurt told him Rachel never seemed to stay single if she could help it.

Someone came into their classroom alongside Cassandra, and taped a piece of paper to the wall.  The rest of their class was suddenly in a flurry of movement, rushing to crowd around the paper.

“What’s going on?” Rachel asked, looking over curiously.

“It’s probably the announcement of the performers for the Winter Showcase,” Blaine said with a shrug, stretching his arm over his head.

Rachel’s eyes bugged out.  “ _What_  Winter Showcase?”

“You didn’t know about this?  They have a showcase every year in December, with outstanding students chosen to perform, some by themselves or in duos or groups.  Professors submit –“

“Why didn’t you tell me about this?!” Rachel interrupted him with an outraged gasp, leaning over to smack him on the chest.

Blaine gave her a dubious look.  “I would’ve thought you would know all about it.  Anyway, I don’t know why they’re bothering to look; freshmen almost never get –”

But Rachel wasn’t listening; she had pulled herself up off the floor and was running up to the crowd, burrowing in and trying to appear innocent even as she stuck her elbow in someone’s side to get past them.  Blaine shook his head, pulling his other arm up to stretch.

Then Rachel let out an ear-piercing shriek, and before Blaine knew it, he had an armful of his friend as she jumped up and down and clutched at his shoulders.  “Blaine!  I’m performing!  I’ve been selected; oh my God!”

Their classmates swarmed around them to offer Rachel congratulations both genuine and grudging, but quickly dispersed when [Cassandra’s](http://ll-media.tmz.com/2012/12/04/1204-glee-split-2.jpg) irritated voice cut through the air.

“If you’re all done wasting my time so you can indulge Ms. Schwimmer’s ego-stroking, I’d like to get on with your final evaluations.  I hope those of you performing today are happy you’ve put me in a bad mood.”

Rachel just smiled brightly.  “Ms. July, it’s just that I’ve been – “

“I’m aware of the situation,” Cassandra drawled, looking bored, “I just happen to not care.”

“Or maybe you’re just jealous,” Rachel muttered, but her voice carries in the silence of the room, and Blaine cringed inwardly.

“Excuse me?” Cassandra said softly, walking towards Rachel slowly.

Rachel tilted her head up, eyes flashing as she ignored Blaine’s placating squeeze of her shoulder.  “This is an incredible honor.  You’ve been picking on me all semester, and I bet it bothers you to no end to see me triumph anyway.  And I don’t think  _I’ll_ attack any audience members when I’m on that stage.”

The class sucked in a breath as one and Cassandra’s eyes narrowed, deadly.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Schwimmer.  In this class, you haven’t triumphed.  Your technique is still sloppy and your arms are weak, not to mention that despite the new tarted-up look, you still have the sex appeal of a bag of rice.”

“Is that so?” Rachel’s voice grew shrill.

“Rachel, maybe you should – “

“Well, I think it’s time for my final evaluation,” Rachel said, ignoring Blaine, “so why don’t you sit down and let me prove you wrong?”

Cassandra placed a hand on her hip and cocked her head, smirking.  “I have a better idea.  We’re going to try something different with you, Schwimmer.  You know, since you’re so special.”

Rachel glared at her.  “I can handle  _anything_  you throw at me.”

The rest of the class cleared the floor, aside from a few Cassandra told to stay, egging them on with low “Ooohs”.  Blaine leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, annoyed with how blatantly disrespectful Rachel was being, but also blown away with how Cassandra July ran her class and still got away with it.  His review for her was not going to be shining.

The [music](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVyV9TPwGsQ) for ‘All that Jazz’ starts, and Cassandra and Rachel swaggered around the room.  Just as Rachel rushed forward to sing, Cassandra cut her off.

“ _Come on, babe, why don’t we paint the town…”_  She slid onto the ground, confident and sensual.  “ _And all that jazz!”_

Blaine could tell Cassandra was trying to intimidate Rachel.  She pullsed out all the stops: high kicks, spins, floor work, all infused with silky, bold sexiness.

And then it was Rachel’s turn, with a few voluntary back-up dancers of her own: “ _Slick your hair and wear your buckle shoes…and all that jazz!”_

“Oh, Rachel,” Blaine sighed under his breath.  It wasn't as though she was terrible; it was just that there was a lot of walking and posing and glaring, and not much actual dance technique.  Blaine knew Rachel was better than this; she wasn't necessarily at Brittany or even Santana or Tina levels, but she could dance.  Blaine was suddenly reminded of Kurt, when they were at Dalton during their junior year, adorably stretching his face into odd contortions while trying to be sexy.  It had surprised Blaine, who had seen Kurt do flirty and sexy performances with ease, who, even before he’d realized the depths of his feelings, had considered his friend to be effortlessly sexy in his own graceful, innocent way.   _Maybe that is Rachel’s problem now_ , he thought.  In an effort to be sexy in the way Cassandra July thought she needs to be, Rachel seemed to be a over-selling it a little, in addition to forgetting she actually needed to dance.

Still, he had to admire Rachel's bravery.  He wouldn't want to be the one evaluated via a dance battle with Cassandra July.

They both ended the number breathing heavily and glaring at each other.  Blaine’s classmates clapped awkwardly, and Blaine applauded too, because was the polite thing to do.

Cassandra blew a stray piece of hair out of her face.  “You’re never going to make it in this industry.  Your dancing doesn’t even begin to come close to what I, a Broadway-calibre dancer, can do.  A role in Chicago, Cabaret, RENT?  They’ll never be yours, Schwimmer, because if you can’t even sink into your own body, how do you expect another character to?”

Rachel looked stricken for a second, but she recovered quickly.  “Well, I still have time to improve,” she bit out, “and you are  _never_  going to be able to sing like me.  You’ll never beat me, and I’m going to prove it at that showcase.”  She stormed out, not bothering to wait for the end of class, since her evaluation was over.

It was only after class was officially over, and everyone, including his professor, had filtered out, that Blaine decided to look at the list of performers for the showcase, and couldn't help the giddy feeling that spread throughout his chest, mirroring the growing grin on his face.

His name was right under Rachel’s.

***

“Please, Kurt, please; it would mean so much…”  [Blaine](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdypqjcB0r1qeds6ko1_r1_500.jpg) could tell [Rachel](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdplbkLjdF1qeds6ko1_500.jpg) was hanging off of Kurt’s arm as the three of them made their way to the fair-trade coffee shop a few blocks from their loft by the way [Kurt’s](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdqnlzXtsp1qeds6ko1_r1_500.jpg) hand pulled on his a little, slowing down the pace they normally walked at.

“Rachel, do you know how much that dress costs?  What if you spill something on it?”

“I won’t; I promise!  I just felt so beautiful when I wore it for the music video we shot, and I need something special, something magical for this showcase.  I’m singing ‘O Holy Night’, Kurt, do you know what an honor that is?”

“You’re Jewish,” Blaine told her wryly.

Rachel waved a hand dismissively.  “I swore that I would do almost anything to get ahead in show business, and the last time I checked, singing a religious Christmas song didn’t involve any nudity or cruelty towards animals, so my moral code will remain intact.”

Kurt let out a snort, glancing at Blaine in amusement out of the corner of his eye.

“Oh, and Blaine is performing, too – “

“What a lovely footnote,” Kurt quipped.

“ – so I’m sure he’ll be giving you his complementary ticket.  Since Brody is a NYADA student, he doesn’t need mine, so I’ll play nice and bring Santana as my date.  We can all dress up and celebrate this incredible recognition I – Blaine and I – have been given!”

“I don’t see why you need that dress from the Closet for all that to happen,” Kurt said lightly, yelping when Rachel suddenly stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and whirled to face him and Blaine, a manic gleam in her eyes.

“Everything needs to be perfect, Kurt.   **Perfect**!  I  **need**  that dress!   **Gold is my color; the color of the star I’m destined to become!** ”

Blaine suspected his expression matched Kurt’s: eyebrows raised, eyes widened in slight alarm at her intense tone and the way she was gripping the ends of Kurt’s poor scarf.  Rachel seemed to notice and gentled her voice, smoothing Kurt’s lapel and tucking his scarf back in place.  “Just…promise me you’ll think about it, okay?  I just want us all to have the special, glamorous sort of evening in New York we always dreamed about.”  She looked over their shoulders, a smile spreading across her face, eyes lighting up.  “There’s Brody!  Oh, I bet he wants to go celebrate my news!”

She rushed across the street and hugged [Brody](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdpohiNFex1qeds6ko1_500.jpg), who nodded and waved at them.

Kurt clucked his tongue, shuffling closer to Blaine against the cold as they started to walk again.

“Well, we both know she’s going to get her way eventually,” he said with a sigh.  “So what are you planning on wearing to this fabulous event?” He asked Blaine.  “I need to coordinate.  And just what are we going to do to celebrate  _your_  news?”

Blaine envisioned something involving champagne, leftover cheesecake, and having the apartment all to themselves, and smiled.  “I’m sure we’ll come up with something.”

***

“I cannot  _believe_  her,” [Rachel](http://s3.amazonaws.com/curvio/app/public/system/screenshots/4984/original/RachelBerry_GoldBallGown.JPG?1349742431) hissed.

She and [Blaine](http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb166/moonmelody_album/darren%20criss%20is%20totally%20awesome/darrencriss35.jpg) were standing backstage at the showcase before their performances, peeking out into the growing crowd as people began settling into their seats.  [Cassandra July](http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk268/styledbyalicia/KateHudson05042009EmbodyingFashionC.jpg) had just arrived in a slinky gold dress and was looking around with a superior smile on her face.

“Rachel,” Blaine said, rolling his eyes, “the colors for the night are red, gold, and purple.  There was a one in three chance she’d be wearing the same color as you.”

“I don’t care!  I know she’s doing it on purpose, just to psych me out before my performance!”  Rachel fluffed the full skirt of her dress in agitation.

Blaine spotted [Brody](http://gossipgirl.alloyentertainment.com/files/2012/09/glee_premiere_011_wenn4077306.jpg) in the wings on the other side of the stage.  Despite his reservations about the guy, he encouraged Rachel to go say hello, hoping that would help her to calm down.  She looped around in the hall behind the auditorium and Blaine saw her appear across the stage, giving Brody a lingering kiss.  Tearing his eyes away with a frown, he looked out over the audience to find a much more pleasant sight: [Kurt](http://www.formulatv.com/images/fgaleria/17600/17694_chris-colfer-con-sombrero.jpg), looking handsome and eye-catching in his three-piece tuxedo and purple dress shirt, complete with a top hat, and poring over the program with [Santana](http://24.media.tumblr.com/7cc3f186953e4563bd73f0b3686cecfd/tumblr_meqj1cahwY1qkshc5o1_500.jpg), who was sitting next to him.  He suddenly looked up at met Blaine’s eyes, grinning and blowing him a kiss.  Blaine pretended to catch it and held his hand to his heart.

“Is that your boyfriend?  He’s cute.”

Blaine turned around to face the person who just spoke to him, a beautiful [woman](http://talkingwithtami.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ROM08271101_027_2-460x612.jpg) in a red dress.  “Yes, he is,” he said, smiling with both pride and friendly curiosity.

The woman smiled back and held out her hand for him to shake.  “I’m Adia; I’m part of the trio that’s performing after you.  You’re Blaine Anderson, right?  The freshman?  I haven’t seen you on campus before this year.”

Blaine beamed at her. “I am.  It’s very nice to meet you.”

“And you.  Are you nervous?  I’ve never seen a freshman selected to perform at the Winter Showcase, let alone two in the same semester.  It’s kind of a big deal.”

“A little. But I find it gives me energy for when I’m on stage, and I usually relax when the music starts,” he told her.  “Rachel, the other freshman, she’s my friend, actually.  We went to high school together.”  He nodded over at Rachel, who was playing with the lapel of Brody’s jacket and looking up at him from beneath her lashes.

Adia followed his gaze.  “The girl in the big gold ball gown?”  She frowned.

“Yeah.  Is…something wrong?”

“Is she dating Brody Weston?”

“They’ve sort of been on and off all semester,” Blaine told her, his brow furrowing, “are you a friend of his?”

Adia pursed her lips, staring over at the flirting couple.  “I wouldn’t say that, no.”  Her face softened into a look of concern as her eyes drifted back to Blaine.  “I’m in the same year as him.  He kind of has a reputation, and I have a friend who…just, tell your friend to be careful with her heart, okay?”

Alarmed, Blaine tried to press for more information.  “What do you – “

Adia’s phone buzzed in her clutch and she fished it out, reading a text and smiling apologetically at Blaine.  “My group wants to do a last minute rehearsal.  It was nice meeting you, Blaine.  Break a leg out there tonight.”

“You too,” Blaine said faintly as she walked away. 

He turned to look back at Rachel and Brody, who were embracing again.  Rachel had her whole body pressed tight against his, and Brody’s hands rested against her ribs, thumbs stroking just under her chest as they smiled into their kiss.

When Rachel stepped out onto the stage to perform her [solo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H4xtRY9V7I), her voice blew Blaine away, as it often did.  It was powerful and emotive, and his breath caught in his throat as he was reminded of the depth at which Rachel could feel, how things always got to the core of her.

Blaine understood Rachel longed for love in the big city.  He just wished she didn’t need and want things so desperately that she too often ended up getting hurt in the pursuit of them.

He looked back out over the audience to find Kurt again and watched his boyfriend, who had his hand to his heart, moved to tears by Rachel’s performance, despite the religious content of the song.

He was so glad he and his love had come to New York together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs:
> 
> All That Jazz (Chicago) by Cassandra and Rachel
> 
> O Holy Night by Rachel


	2. Surprise

Kurt loved watching Rachel perform.  When they had first joined glee club in their sophomore year, he had resented that tiny, annoying, horribly dressed girl for always getting the spotlight and, despite being awful, still having a better chance with the object of his affections than he ever would.  But even back then, he hadn't been able to deny her talent when she started to sing.  When they had become actual friends, Rachel had used song to make it happen, a Judy and Barbra duet when Kurt had been feeling his most alone.  And he had always admired her voice, her emotion, her power, with every solo or duet or group number (and there were many, often because she had demanded them in a way he never could, much as he might’ve wanted to).

Which is why it was such a pleasure to watch [her](http://s3.amazonaws.com/curvio/app/public/system/screenshots/4984/original/RachelBerry_GoldBallGown.JPG?1349742431) singing [‘O Holy Night’](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H4xtRY9V7I) at the NYADA Winter Showcase, dressed to the nines in an ostentatious gold ball gown [Kurt](http://www.formulatv.com/images/fgaleria/17600/17694_chris-colfer-con-sombrero.jpg)  had procured from the Closet at Vogue, infusing every last drop of emotion into a song about Baby Jesus.  He found himself moved, though he was far from a believer.  Maybe it was because it was like he was seeing  _Rachel_  for the first time in a while, completely lost in a powerful ballad and clearly enjoying every second of it as much as the audience was.  Between the whole Brody (whom he  _did not_  like) thing and her new look (Kurt never should’ve given her that makeover; he should’ve known she’d get overzealous with it when left to her own devices) and her troubles at school, he had been simultaneously worried about and irritated with her for quite some time now.

He stood up and clapped extra hard, sniffing, when she finishes singing.  Even [Santana](http://24.media.tumblr.com/7cc3f186953e4563bd73f0b3686cecfd/tumblr_meqj1cahwY1qkshc5o1_500.jpg) was applauding beside him without a trace of derision.

It was a tough act to follow, but Kurt knew that if anyone could pull it off, it was Blaine.  He smiled proudly when Blaine was announced and [his boyfriend](http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb166/moonmelody_album/darren%20criss%20is%20totally%20awesome/darrencriss35.jpg) emerged from the wings, smiling charmingly and sitting down at the baby grand piano on the stage. 

Blaine had this way about him that could get an audience to fall for him just by looking out at the crowd, and it was magnified tenfold when he started to sing or play a [song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=edGIB-U-1so#t=12s).

“ _Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light…_ ”

It wasn't a powerful, dramatic ballad like the number before it, but Blaine was stunning all the same, even if Kurt knew he was biased.   _Whoever picked the songs really knew what they were doing_ , Kurt thought.  Just as ‘O Holy Night’ had fit the intensity of Rachel’s finest belting, Blaine’s song allowed him to woo and seduce and charm, his voice like butter melting over the words.  His eyes were closed for a moment; Kurt could tell he was absorbed in the romance and sentiment of the song.

“ _…through the years, we all will be together…_ ”

Blaine looked out over the audience and his eyes met Kurt’s, holding his gaze.  Kurt smiled, pressing his hand to his lips.  He could always tell when Blaine was singing to him, even when he was just one in a very large crowd.

When Blaine finished his performance, he came and sat with Kurt and Santana.  Rachel wasn’t with them; she was sitting with [Brody](http://gossipgirl.alloyentertainment.com/files/2012/09/glee_premiere_011_wenn4077306.jpg) on the other side of the room.  Blaine leaned over and Kurt kissed him.

“You were wonderful,” he said quietly, “everyone would’ve been swooning if they weren’t already sitting down.”

Blaine thanked him and took his hand, smiling at Santana when she told him he was good enough that she managed not to snicker at “ _make the Yuletide gay_ ”, but he seemed a little distracted, now that he was coming down from his performance high.

He whispered that the [woman](http://talkingwithtami.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ROM08271101_027_2-460x612.jpg) in a red dress on stage, part of the trio singing [Silver Bells](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge-yIjErnW8), had warned him about Brody.  Kurt glanced over at Rachel, who was leaning her head on Brody’s shoulder and hugging his arm.

“All this Rachel drama is exhausting.  Like it always is,” Kurt said.  He turned to fully look at Blaine, gorgeous in his understated suit and purple tie.  “I’m so glad we’re here together.  In New York, living together, in love.”

Blaine kissed his palm and then brought it to rest against his cheek for a moment.  “I was just thinking the same thing.”

***

“Alright, I’ll admit it,” Santana said, as she, Kurt, Blaine, and Rachel helped themselves to hors d’oeuvres after the showcase had finished, “you all know I think your weird little show tune school is kind of dweeby, but this night has been pretty sweet.  Rachel, your speaking voice makes me want to gag you on the best of days, but there’s no denying you’ve got pipes.  And Blaine, if there were any straight guys in the audience – which I doubt – I’m pretty sure you turned them with that strangely sexy rendition of a Christmas song.”

“Wow, Santana, did they slip something into the eggnog?” Blaine asked, dodging the punch she threw at his shoulder.

“Apparently a little couture brings out Santana’s nice side,” Kurt teased, nodding at Santana’s dress, which Isabelle had let her take from the Closet back in September.

“Yes, Santana, you look very nice,” Rachel said distractedly, smoothing down the skirt of her own dress, “have any of you seen Brody?  He said he was going to the bathroom, but he should be back by now.”

Santana glared at her.  “Seriously, Berry?  I just paid you a compliment, and you’re too worried about the location of your Ken doll to gloat?  Can you stop being a clingy loser for five seconds?”

“Santana,” Blaine admonished.

Rachel looked back at them.  “No, it’s fine,” she said, smiling tightly at Santana, “she’s right, in her own rude way.  I’m sure he’ll turn up.”  She tilted her head up and fussed with her hair.  “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go powder my nose.”

“Have fun sitting on the can in that dress,” Santana called after her loudly.

“You could try to go easy on her tonight,” Blaine said.

“I  _did_  try.”  Santana rolled her eyes.  “What can I say?  Grody is my new Snix trigger.”

“I don’t blame you,” Kurt said wryly.

When Rachel returned from the washroom, they spent some time socializing.  Blaine took Kurt by the hand and introduced him to dozens of people, including the woman he met backstage earlier, Adia, and they talked with people Kurt had met before, like Blaine’s friends from his script analysis class, whom Kurt had seen at Callbacks more than once.  Kurt saw Santana convince Rachel to slip a little rum into her eggnog, and soon they were getting along better than usual, with Rachel hugging Santana’s waist and nuzzling her shoulder while Santana spoke, teary-eyed, probably about Brittany.

When Rachel practically crashed into Kurt and squealed his name, causing several people to chuckle, and Santana looked like she was about to sob, quickly snatching Blaine’s hanky to blow her nose, it seemed like a good time for the four of them to take their leave.

“I haven’t found Brody yet,” Rachel whined, clinging to Kurt’s arm.

“He’s a big boy,” Kurt told her, “now let’s get our coats and get you some water so your fabulous night doesn’t end in disaster.”

“You’re such a good friend,” Rachel cooed, “my very best friend.  I love you sooo much!  I love you all!  My roomies are the best!  You all need to promise me right now that you won’t ever leave me-“

She stopped speaking when Blaine opened the door to the coatroom, revealing Brody and [Cassandra July](http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk268/styledbyalicia/KateHudson05042009EmbodyingFashionC.jpg) locked together in a heated embrace.  Brody’s jacket was on the floor, his shirt pushed down around his elbows, and Cassandra’s dress was up around her hips, her legs wrapped around his waist.  The way Brody moved his hips just before he noticed he and Cassandra were no longer alone and Cassandra’s answering moan made it clear they were in the middle of having sex.

“What the fresh hell,” Santana said, suddenly completely sober.

Kurt thew a hand up to shield his eyes.  “I  _so_  did not need to see that, ever,” he groaned.

Blaine was in the process of turning his back, when a still-silent Rachel suddenly spun on her heel, racing down the hall with her big gold skirt billowing behind her like some tragic Cinderella.

“Rachel, wait!” Blaine rushed off after her, and at the same time, Cassandra July elbowed past Kurt and Santana, fixing her hair.

Brody picked up his jacket and shrugged his shirt back onto his shoulders.  He attempted to do up the buttons and walk past Kurt and Santana as well, but his casual “Excuse me,” seemed to snap Santana out of her stunned state.

“Oh, I don’t think so, Scumbag Von Blandface,” Santana said, grabbing Brody by the collar.

“You’re not going anywhere, after the stunt you just pulled,” Kurt added furiously.  His hands were shaking with how shocked and upset he was; he was torn between running after Blaine and Rachel and knowing he needed to stay so that Santana didn’t actually commit homicide.

Brody raised his eyebrows.  “What, are you two going to beat me up in the coatroom?”

“Don’t think I won’t,” Santana snarled, taking out her earrings, “I have brass knuckles in my purse, and I think it’s about time I took you for a visit to Lima Heights.”

Brody sighed.  “You’re being childish.  And  _really_  small-town.”

Kurt had to catch Santana’s wrist to stay her hand.  “Don’t descend to his levels of crudeness,” he spat, glaring at Brody.

“Why the hell not?!”

“Because,” Kurt said slowly, his lip curling.  He shifted, jutting out one hip as he let his eyes travel up and down Brody’s body, silently judging him and finding him wanting, “the problem with cretins like Brody is that they lack class.  The only solution is to teach him a lesson all about it, the best way we know how.”  He turned on his heel and staleds into the empty classroom opposite the coatroom, and he heard Santana follow, pulling Brody along by his collar.

When he shut the door behind them, Santana shoved Brody down into the nearest chair.

Kurt stared him down until Santana pulled him aside.  “What exactly is your plan here, Kurt?  Because if you’ve got nothing, I wants to get with the slashing.”

“Santana, I’m surprised,” Kurt murmured back, “three years of glee club, and you’ve already forgotten the effectiveness of a proper musical dressing-down?  Watch and learn.”

He turned to face Brody again, smirking as he imagined the opening notes of the perfect scorning [song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHgl762qGso) for this situation.  He already felt better.

“ _Whatever happened to fair dealing, and pure ethics, and nice manners,_ ” he sang, smug at the look of surprise on Brody’s face at the sound of his voice, “ _Why is it everyone now is a pain in the ass?  Whatever happened to class?_ ”

Santana slunk forward, tilting her chin down, and Kurt was definitely glad he wasn't on the receiving end of that look.  “ _Whatever happened to ‘Please may I’ and ‘yes, thank you’ and ‘how charming’?_ ”  She leaned forward, curling a fist into the lapel of Brody’ jacket, her face inches from his as she sneered at him.  “ _Now every sonuvabitch is a snake in the grass!  Whatever happened to class?_ ”

Kurt smiled when he saw Brody looking a little alarmed, and his smile widened as Brody’s hands gripped the seat of his chair when Santana released him with a shove.

They circled him like vultures, and Kurt could tell Brody was sufficiently disturbed, because he stayed seated through the whole thing, curling in on himself.

“ _Oh, there ain’t no gentlemen that’s fit for any use…_ ”

At first, Kurt was willing to give Brody a chance, because Rachel seemed intent on having a New York fling as part of her “growing up”, and he was tired of her and Finn’s dramatics.  But ever since he found Rachel wiping away her tears in the girls’ bathroom after Grease, and she confessed that her pseudo-boyfriend had slept with her teacher, he barely tolerated his presence. 

“ _Nobody’s got no class!_ ”

Now, he had slept with the same woman again, and on a special night Rachel cared so much about, and Kurt’s heart hurt for her.  She was often silly and short-sighted, but Kurt knew Rachel deserved so much better than trash like this, and he was just so angry things ended up like this.  He swore to himself he’d do everything he could to protect her, especially while she was so vulnerable.

“ _What a shame…_ ” Kurt sang, eyes flitting over Brody so he’d know exactly what was so shameful.

“ _What a shame!_ ” Santana echoed, her voice dripping with acid.

“ _What became of class?_ ” They finished the song together, and as soon as the last note died away, Santana was advancing on Brody.  For a moment, Kurt was afraid she was actually going to punch him or something, but all she did was lean over him again and hold his face in her hands.

“If I ever see your two-by-four face again,” she purred, “I will cut it off, and replace it with chunks of Spam, and nobody will be able to tell the difference.”

She let go and walked out of the classroom.

“Look,” Brody said to Kurt once she’s left, sounding unnerved, “I’ll talk to Rachel.  We’re not exclusive, you know?  She and I could be great together if she’d stop approaching everything like a little girl expecting a knight in shining armor.  I’ll take her on a romantic date, make it up to – “

“Santana is full of terrifying threats, isn’t she?” Kurt interrupted him, examining his nails idly.  “But make no mistake: the person you’ll have to deal with if you come near Rachel again is  _me_.  I won’t get violent, I won’t threaten to maim your unremarkably pretty face.  But I promise…” He looked Brody right in the eye, calm and serious.  “I will destroy your life.”

He left Brody, who was apparently speechless, because comforting Rachel was much more important than spending one more second in that awful person’s presence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs:
> 
> O Holy Night by Rachel
> 
> Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by Blaine
> 
> Silver Bells by Adia and two NYADA students
> 
> Class (Chicago) by Kurt and Santana


	3. Swallow My Pride

[Rachel](http://s3.amazonaws.com/curvio/app/public/system/screenshots/4984/original/RachelBerry_GoldBallGown.JPG?1349742431) found herself in the hallway outside of her dance class.  She hugged her middle, pacing up and down and trying to hold it all in, squeezing her eyes shut against images of Brody and Cassandra intertwined in the coat room.  It didn’t work, and soon she was crying – sobbing - hardly able to catch her breath until her head felt dizzy, but she refused to sink to the floor in her dress, not when it was borrowed and so expensive.

She felt weak, though, her legs like rubber, and she covered her face with her hands, stumbling a little.

“Rachel?”

Her knees buckled, but [Blaine](http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb166/moonmelody_album/darren%20criss%20is%20totally%20awesome/darrencriss35.jpg) caught her around the waist, holding her arm.

“Why don’t you sit down?”

“I c-can’t,” she gasped out, “Kurt will kill me if I ruin this dress.”

“No, he won’t,” was Blaine’s quiet reply.  He let go of her for a moment, and she continuds to cry as he laid his suit jacket on the ground and guided her to sit down on top of it, sitting cross-legged beside her.

The rum from her eggnog still swam in her head and she slumped against Blaine, hiding her face in his shoulder.

“I’m such an idiot,” she sobbed.

“Brody is the idiot,” Blaine said, “and a complete jerk.”

“I was…” she felt her face heat up despite the tears that continue to fall.  She hiccuped.  “I was going to  _give_  myself to him tonight.  I told him backstage.  B-but I guess I’m not worth waiting even o-one evening for.”

Blaine handed her his handkerchief.  “I don’t think Brody wanting to sleep with you is a good measure of what you’re worth.”

“He made me feel good about myself,” Rachel said miserably, dabbing at her tears, “he made me feel like…like I could really move forward.”

Blaine sighed beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.  “You can.  You don’t need a boyfriend for that.”

She didn’t answer him, because she knew how stupid it would sound to disagree.  But the truth was, Blaine couldn’t understand.  None of them could, not when they had someone in their lives they could share everything with.  Because one day, Kurt and Blaine would want to live on their own, and Brittany would come to New York or Santana would find a new girlfriend and move in with her, and she'd be the one who was left on her own.  When she was younger, she always told herself it was lonely at the top, and she’d just have to get used to it.  But now that she knew what it was like to be in love, what it was like to have friends, she coudln't bear the thought of the aching loneliness that plagued her first two years of high school.

She didn’t answer him, because she was embarrassed.  She didn’t want to imagine what her friends all thought of her. 

[Kurt](http://www.formulatv.com/images/fgaleria/17600/17694_chris-colfer-con-sombrero.jpg) and [Santana](http://24.media.tumblr.com/7cc3f186953e4563bd73f0b3686cecfd/tumblr_meqj1cahwY1qkshc5o1_500.jpg) joined them after several minutes of Rachel crying and Blaine rubbing her back.  Rachel waited for Santana’s mockery, Kurt’s impatience, but none of it came.  Santana was quiet, if tense, and Kurt just gently helped her up while Blaine dusted off his slacks and jacket.  She fell asleep in the cab on the way home, tired and still a little drunk, but mostly just not wanting to face another minute of reality.

***

After she shut herself in her room and watched Barbra movies for the rest of the weekend, reality was ready to slap Rachel in the face on Monday.

[She](http://www.closetcravings.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/leamichele813121.jpg) stopped by her dance classroom after her English exam to pick up a couple things she left in the cupboard.  She hated this room now; it made her skin crawl to think of the memories it held.  She hurriedly stuffed her things in her bag and turned to leave, only to find herself face-to-face with [Brody](http://www.dreamstime.com/dean-geyer-thumb26286755.jpg), who had just entered the room.

“Rachel, I’ve been looking for you,” he said, shutting the door, and Rachel clutched her bag to her chest.

“Are you sure you’re not looking for Cassandra?” She muttered.

“Look.  I’m sorry you had to find us like that.  Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to hook up with Cassandra there, but – “

“You were my date, Brody!” Rachel willed the tears in her eyes away.  “I…we made plans for later that night, and you still, after you  _promised_ …”  She hated the whining tone her voice took on, especially when Brody just looked down at her pityingly.

“You’re never going to survive in New York if you keep up this naïve mentality, Rachel.  You and I, we have a good thing going, we have fun together, so if you’d just stop with the whole high school romance rules, we could – “

“We don’t.”

“…what?”

“We don’t have a good thing going,” she said quietly, and she turned away from him.  She could still see him in the mirror.  “We don’t have  _any_  thing going, Brody.”

“…I’m sorry if you were upset, alright, but – “

“I know what it’s like to be jerked around, to make a fool out of myself for a guy.  It’s happened before.  But I loved that boy, and I don’t love you.  So just leave me alone.”  She hated that her voice cracked on the last word.

She closed her eyes as he left, closing the door and leaving her by herself in the room, and it was only when he was gone that she let the tears spill over.  She dropped her bag and pressed trembling hands against her abdomen.

Brody was gone.  And Finn was really, really gone.

And she was all alone.

 _“_[ _If anyone asks, I’ll tell them we both just moved on,_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0YShFEmYx0) _”_  she sang quietly into the stillness of the room.  Her voice was shaky as she continued to sing, and she didn’t try to stop her tears.  They flowed down her face and her voice gained strength from the simple out-pouring of her emotion.

_“…whenever I feel your memory is breaking my heart, I’ll pretend I’m okay with it all, act like there’s nothing wrong…”_

She was so tired of crying, being heartbroken, but it was like it was all she knew, and she didn’t know how to stop.  Even now, she just wanted someone to hold her, and tell her it would be okay, that she was special, that she was worth it.

_“…why won’t this just all go away?”_

She gulped down breath in between the words, hunching over and holding her stomach because it was just physically painful.  She couldn’t even look at herself in the mirrors any more.  She could’t face what she saw there. 

_“…is it over yet?  Can I open my eyes?  Is this what it feels like to really cry?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs:
> 
> Cry (Kelly Clarkson) by Rachel.

**Author's Note:**

> Song Order: All That Jazz, Silver Bells, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, O Holy Night, Class, Cry


End file.
